


An Adventure in Perspective

by Katzedecimal



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Case Fic, Gen, John Watson's Blog, Sherlock Likes to Dance, Silly, dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 02:17:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4002085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katzedecimal/pseuds/Katzedecimal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock had always hoped that there would be a case that required his dancing skills.   This wasn't quite what he had expected but he'll take it anyways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Case of the Lighting Technician

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FroggyBangBang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FroggyBangBang/gifts).



It's well known (to John) that I disapprove of the way John writes about our cases, so some (John) have challenged me to describe a case the way I think it should be described. Very well. Mrs. Hudson suggested I write about cases I find particularly note-worthy, which is a ridiculous statement - they're all note-worthy, as even a cursory glance around my flat will reveal. Nevertheless, the case I shall write about was interesting partly because it took several years even for me to realise that there was a case at all. 

Every year, dancers turned up dead. The police mostly ruled them as suicides, as they are wont to do. I myself hadn't thought much of them until I noticed that a dancer who had died in autumn had performed at the same venue as a dancer who had died in spring. That stood out to me, so I commenced a research project, whereupon I discovered the following about the dancers:

1) They were all male.  
2) Their deaths had all been by drug overdose, ruled as accidental or as suicide.  
3) They had all performed at the same venue within three days of their deaths.  
4) The deaths occurred in the spring and in the autumn, never at a significant time like Easter or Christmas.  
5) Prior to two years ago, the deaths only occurred in spring, and only one death.

Conclusion: Serial killer. Someone at the venue was murdering male dancers. Male dancers have always drawn criticism from homophobes and the victims had all performed modern dances in very glitzy costumes, so the killer was most likely to be a homophobic predator operating on the assumption that the victims were not heterosexual men. The killer was careful enough not to draw attention, and now they were escalating. 

The surest way to catch such a predator was to go undercover as their prey. So, I contacted a former client who was a bellydancer, for assistance. Her troupe was scheduled to perform at an event being held at the venue, so I acquired suitable props, costume, and training, and enlisted to perform with them. All was going according to plan until the day of the event, where I discovered that a member of a hip-hop troupe also scheduled to perform was none other than Detective Sergeant Sally Donovan of the Yard. 

D.S. Donovan was professional enough to lend her assistance, which I accepted as she was there for the same reason I was: She had, in fact, observed the emergent pattern and come to the same conclusion, but her attempts to initiate an investigation had been unsuccessful, even though her own enquiries had turned up some chemical residues in the victims' bodies that the investigators (such as they were) had overlooked. It was a rare moment of sympathy because I do know the frustration of being shut down by idiots who refuse to listen to simple facts. She was a member of the hip-hop troupe in her off-hours and was using the opportunity to investigate by herself. 

Although the events associated with the deaths had all happened at the same venue, there were few other commonalities, so the perpetrator was most likely to be one of the technical crew, security staff, or janitorial staff, rather than a showrunner, a presenter, or a fellow performer. D.S. Donovan's troupe was performing in the second half of the show, while my troupe was performing in the first half, so we agreed to monitor during each other's performances. By the intermission, it was apparent that I and two other men had attracted the attention of one of the lighting crew. D.S. Donovan had shared her hypothesis of how the killer was subduing his victims and brought DrinkSafe kits (having the same suspicions, I had, of course, brought my own.)

After the intermission, D.S. Donovan and I shared our observations and concluded that the lighting technician was our man. The suspicion was borne out after the event's finale when I was approached by the technician, who offered to buy me a celebratory drink at the pub. The drink, of course, tested positive, whereupon I summoned D.S. Donovan who took the man into custody. Upon the successful arrest, the exhilaration of a successful case caught up to me. 

 

Wait, what? "acquired suitable props, costume, and training", are you saying you took training as a BELLYDANCER?  
Mike Stamford, 12 June

Obviously.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

The "costume", oh my God. I was the one to receive the costume. I get this box delivery, open it up, and there's this panoply of beads and glitter and velvet and sequins, then along he comes and whisks it out of my hands before I can really get a look at it.  
John Watson, 12 June

"Panoply", John? Really? Isn't that a rather big word for you?  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

It's an accurate one.  
John Watson, 12 June

I didn't say it wasn't.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

Sherlock, this is terrible. You didn't even describe the costume.  
John Watson, 12 June

It's hardly relevant to the case, John.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

HA HA HA omg this is dry! I can't believe you left out the costume! Guys it was an amazing costume and he had wings on and everything.   
Sally Donovan, 12 June

Wings?  
John Watson, 12 June

Wings?!  
Mike Stamford, 12 June

Wings?  
G. Lestrade, 12 June

Sherlock had wings?   
Philip Anderson, 12 June

Yes, he had these great scintillating cobalt blue wings that matched his costume. He looked amazing. I didn't know he could dance like that. That drum solo was amazing! Sherlock, your smile was just dazzling.  
Molly Hooper, 12 June

Wait, what? You saw it?? Molly?  
John Watson, 12 June

Yes, I was in the audience. And Sgt. Donovan's troupe were amazing too.  
Molly Hooper, 12 June

I had to do his make-up. He's so pale, he'd have completely disappeared under the stage lights.  
Sally Donovan, 12 June

What does any of this have to do with the case?  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

It has nothing to do with the case, Sherlock, and everything to do with the STORY.   
John Watson, 12 June

Oh yes of course, the STORY, that's so much more important than solving cases and catching serial killers. That's right, we're all about the STORIES over here.   
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

Sally, if I give you editing capability, will you fill in with your perspective?  
John Watson, 12 June

I'd love to!  
Sally Donovan, 12 June


	2. Tripping Up the Light Tech, Fantastic!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sergeant Donovan provides embellishments to the events.

Edit: Really, John? What was wrong with my title?  
**edit: It was boring?**  
Edit: It was factual.  
**edit: Facts are boring.**  
Edit: I'm fetching my revolver.  
**edit: Note to the readers, that's an in-joke between Sherlock and I. If you've been a regular reader of my blog, you'll see that it's been something of a running gag in the comments. He doesn't actually own a revolver.**

It's well known (to John) that I disapprove of the way John writes about our cases, so some (John) have challenged me to describe a case the way I think it should be described. Very well. Mrs. Hudson suggested I write about cases I find particularly note-worthy, which is a ridiculous statement - they're all note-worthy, as even a cursory glance around my flat will reveal. Nevertheless, the case I shall write about was interesting partly because it took several years even for me to realise that there was a case at all. 

Every year, dancers turned up dead. The police mostly ruled them as suicides, as they are wont to do. I myself hadn't thought much of them until I noticed that a dancer who had died in autumn had performed at the same venue as a dancer who had died in spring. That stood out to me, so I commenced a research project, whereupon I discovered the following about the dancers:

1) They were all male.  
2) Their deaths had all been by drug overdose, ruled as accidental or as suicide.  
3) They had all performed at the same venue within three days of their deaths.  
4) The deaths occurred in the spring and in the autumn, never at a significant time like Easter or Christmas.  
5) Prior to two years ago, the deaths only occurred in spring, and only one death.

Conclusion: Serial killer. Someone at the venue was murdering male dancers. Male dancers have always drawn criticism from homophobes and the victims had all performed modern dances in very glitzy costumes, so the killer was most likely to be a homophobic predator operating on the assumption that the victims were not heterosexual men. The killer was careful enough not to draw attention, and now they were escalating. 

The surest way to catch such a predator was to go undercover as their prey. So, I contacted a former client who was a bellydancer, for assistance. Her troupe was scheduled to perform at an event being held at the venue, so I acquired suitable props, costume, and training, and enlisted to perform with them. _edit: Yes, you read that correctly, he trained as a bellydancer._ All was going according to plan until the day of the event, where I discovered that a member of a hip-hop troupe also scheduled to perform was none other than Detective Sergeant Sally Donovan of the Yard. 

_edit: I get to the venue with my group and on our way to the dressing rooms, I see this tall bloke with a group of bellydancers and when picked my jaw up off the floor, my first thought was "Holmes, is that YOU?"_  
**edit: Sergeant, I will NOT put up with your juvenile name-calling on my own damned blog. Correct that immediately or I'll pull your access.**  
_I have to describe the costume he was wearing. It was all royal blue velvet, short vest and trousers with little crosshatches down the sides and the middle of the vest, all covered with sequins and strings of beads, this thing glittered like nobody's business. Every time he moved, it caught the light. He was paired with a tall girl and the leader of the troupe and all three of them had these gorgeous organza wings that sparkled and swirled amazingly. I saw their staging and I was like, Oh my God this is going to look incredible._

_Except that he was totally washing out under the lights! I cornered him and told him he needed more make-up. I swear, you would not believe how pale this man is and he was totally lost under the lights. You couldn't even see his eyes. He needed serious colour! So I sat him down and made him up and let me tell you, stage make-up looks absolutely whorish in natural light but on the stage, you look totally normal. It gave us a chance to talk a bit about what was going on. He was there without back-up but then so was I, so it made sense to back each other up._

D.S. Donovan was professional enough to lend her assistance, which I accepted as she was there for the same reason I was: She had, in fact, observed the emergent pattern and come to the same conclusion, but her attempts to initiate an investigation had been unsuccessful, even though her own enquiries had turned up some chemical residues in the victims' bodies that the investigators (such as they were) had overlooked. It was a rare moment of sympathy because I do know the frustration of being shut down by idiots who refuse to listen to simple facts. She was a member of the hip-hop troupe in her off-hours and was using the opportunity to investigate by herself. 

_edit: I have to admit, it felt good to vent. I've never really liked Holmes but I knew if anyone would understand the way I felt, it would be him. I think that's the only time that Holmes and I have ever connected on any level._

Although the events associated with the deaths had all happened at the same venue, there were few other commonalities, so the perpetrator was most likely to be one of the technical crew, security staff, or janitorial staff, rather than a showrunner, a presenter, or a fellow performer. D.S. Donovan's troupe was performing in the second half of the show, while my troupe was peforming in the first half, so we agreed to monitor during each other's performances. By the intermission, it was apparent that I and two other men had attracted the attention of one of the lighting crew. D.S. Donovan had shared her hypothesis of how the killer was subduing his victims and brought DrinkSafe kits (having the same suspicions, I had, of course, brought my own.)

 _edit: Which you didn't use!_  
edit: I certainly did.

_edit: I have to talk about his performance. First of all, his group were all just gorgeous, all in just amazing costumes. It wasn't just the colours or the gorgeous frothy beadwork, it was the way they fitted and how they suited each person's body. Holmes was the only man in the group but his costume blended with the overall theme, so he fit in as well as standing out. I have to agree with the other girl down in the comments, I had no idea that Holmes could dance and his whole group were just killing it! And when the whole lot of them ran out for the drum solo in the middle, the audience went absolutely mad! You could hardly hear the music over the cheering! And the jumps! The thunder of what, 25 pairs of feet? all hitting the stage at the same time! And Holmes, I have NEVER seen you smile like that,_

edit: You never give me a reason to.  
_you looked like you were having so much fun up there. You guys totally nailed it and you looked just amazing in your wings._

edit: What does any of this have to do with the case?  
edit: I'm told I'm now obligated to point out that D.S. Donovan and her hip-hop troupe were excellent dancers. This has nothing to do with the case and everything to do with John refusing to give back my microscope.

After the intermission, D.S. Donovan and I shared our observations and concluded that the lighting technician was our man. The suspicion was borne out after the event's finale when I was approached by the technician, who offered to buy me a celebratory drink at the pub. The drink, of course, tested positive,

 _edit: And you drank it anyway!?!_  
edit: I did not.

whereupon I summoned D.S. Donovan who took the man into custody. Upon the successful arrest, the exhiliaration of a successful case caught up to me. 

_edit: You passed out! I canNOT believe you actually DRANK the drink AFTER confirming that it was drugged!_  
edit: I did not drink it, Sergeant.  
**edit: He really didn't. He refuses to sleep or eat while he's working a case. He passed out because he's an idiot who'd done all this damned dancing without any food energy to dance off of.**  
edit: I am a professional, John.  
**edit: You're an idiot.**

 

Wait, what? "acquired suitable props, costume, and training", are you saying you took training as a BELLYDANCER?  
Mike Stamford, 12 June

Obviously.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

The "costume", oh my God. I was the one to receive the costume. I get this box delivery, open it up, and there's this panoply of beads and glitter and velvet and sequins, then along he comes and whisks it out of my hands before I can really get a look at it.  
John Watson, 12 June

"Panoply", John? Really? Isn't that a rather big word for you?  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

It's an accurate one.  
John Watson, 12 June

I didn't say it wasn't.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

Sherlock, this is terrible. You didn't even describe the costume.  
John Watson, 12 June

It's hardly relevant to the case, John.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

HA HA HA omg this is dry! I can't believe you left out the costume! Guys it was an amazing costume and he had wings on and everything.  
Sally Donovan, 12 June

Wings?  
John Watson, 12 June

Wings?!  
Mike Stamford, 12 June

Wings?  
G. Lestrade, 12 June

Sherlock had wings?  
Philip Anderson, 12 June

Yes, he had these great scintillating cobalt blue wings that matched his costume. He looked amazing. I didn't know he could dance like that. That drum solo was amazing! Sherlock, your smile was just dazzling.  
Molly Hooper, 12 June

Wait, what? You saw it?? Molly?  
John Watson, 12 June

Yes, I was in the audience. And Sgt. Donovan's troupe were amazing too.  
Molly Hooper, 12 June

I had to do his make-up. He's so pale, he'd have completely disappeared under the stage lights.  
Sally Donovan, 12 June

What does any of this have to do with the case?  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

It has nothing to do with the case, Sherlock, and everything to do with the STORY.  
John Watson, 12 June

Oh yes of course, the STORY, that's so much more important than solving cases and catching serial killers. That's right, we're all about the STORIES over here.  
Sherlock Holmes, 12 June

Sally, if I give you editing capability, will you fill in with your perspective?  
John Watson, 12 June

I'd love to!  
Sally Donovan, 12 June

Oh that's much better!  
Mike Stamford, 13 June

Tell me there's video of this. I will pay anyone who got a video of this.  
Phil Anderson, 13 June

Ditto!  
G. Lestrade, 13 June

Triple ditto!!!!  
Jacob Sowerby, 13 June

Um, I might have taken a video with my mobile.  
Molly Hooper, 13 June

I will pay to have any video of this destroyed.  
M. Holmes, 13 June

Oh.  
Molly Hooper, 13 June

But not before you see it first, right Mycroft?  
John Watson

I've deleted it.  
Molly Hooper, 13 June

OH GOD NO TELL ME YOU DIDN'T  
Jacob Sowerby, 13 June

Why do you people even care?  
Sherlock Holmes, 13 June

John, I've sent you an email.  
Molly Hooper, 13 June

Molly, you are the best.  
John Watson, 13 June

Don't post that.  
Sherlock Holmes, 13 June

POST IT POST IT POST IT  
Jacob Sowerby, 13 June

Post it!  
G. Lestrade, 13 June

POST IT!  
Phil Anderson, 13 June

Do NOT post it.  
M. Holmes, 13 June

I'm staying outta this one.  
Sally Donovan, 13 June

I'm not going to post it but I have to say I agree with Molly and Sgt. Donovan, this is absolutely amazing. Also that I'm holding Sherlock's latest experiment hostage until he apologises for not taking me with him so he'd bloody well have BACKUP.  
John Watson, 13 June

Fine, John, if I ever have to bellydance for a case again, you can come with me.  
Sherlock Holmes, 13 June

Follow up note, it did happen again (though not for a case this time) and I did go with him and I do not wish to talk about it, ever.  
John Watson, 17 April

You all looked amazing, though.  
Molly Hooper, 18 April

What, John and Sherlock were both bellydancing? Recently?  
G. Lestrade, 18 April

No, they just carried the lead dancer on a platform. Their costumes were very simple but they looked really fit.  
Molly Hooper, 18 April

Their costumes were gold lame harem trousers and a layer of baby oil, yeah they looked good.  
Sally Donovan, 18 April

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN  
Jacob Sowerby, 18 April

It didn't happen.  
M. Holmes, 18 April

Sherlock, I sent you an email.  
Molly Hooper, 18 April

Thank you, Molly.  
Sherlock Holmes, 18 April


End file.
